All The Rage: Fearful Symmetry

I?m having some minor technical difficulties this week, so bear with me?

Sundowner

Earlier this week, Marvel released a statement regarding Chris Claremont?s pending time off due to his recent health problems. Already some speculation has shown up online regarding the severity of his condition, but even so, most observers have expressed their desire to see Claremont make ?a full and speedy recovery.? We at SBC also send Claremont our best wishes.

As for Claremont?s upcoming books for Marvel, they will be waiting for him when he makes his return. In the interim, the early word is that Tony Bedard will stay on Exiles for at least a few issues beyond his planned exit, though I haven?t heard what will happen with New Excalibur yet?

UPDATE

Newsarama just posted an update from Diamond?s retailer website. Apparently, Frank Tieri will script over Claremont?s plots for New Excaliber #7 & 8, while Bedard will script Uncanny X-Men 472, 474 and Annual # 1, again from Claremont?s plots. However, they didn?t confirm the rumor of Bedard staying on Exiles?

This Has A ?First Flight? Factor of Eight Out of Ten

Like A Bat Out of Hell

Ah? one of our ATR Agents remembered that I?m a big Ghost Rider fan?

These are, of course, pages from Marvel?s new ongoing Ghost Rider series by Daniel Way, Javier Salteres and Mark Texeira, which is coming out in July.

This Has A ?Noble Kale? Factor of Nine Out of Ten

By Your Command

Among the good news to come out this week, one of my favorite creators, Rick Remender is slated to write the Classic Battlestar Galactica series for Dynamite. I?m trying to find out who the artist attached is, but nobody is talking just yet. But I did hear that Dave Dorman is onboard for the covers?

This Has A ?Many Yarons Ago? Factor of Eight Out of Ten

People Are Strange

There?s been some interesting crossover between music and comics as of late. A few weeks back, there was a rumor about Neil Young working on a project for Vertigo. Now there?s a rumor that Marilyn Manson is going to make a guest appearance in Emily The Strange #3. Not a parody or a thinly veiled caricature, but the actual man himself will be teaming up with Emily in one of the stories, similar to the feature with The Damned from the first issue. An in-character interview is also expected?

In other Dark Horse news heard this week, Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal) is working on two new stories for an Ohikkoshi collection, which is coming out in October.

This Has A ?Posse Cat? Factor of Seven Out of Ten

Blade of Destiny

Some pages from the recently released Witchblade manga have shown up online over at Heisei Democracy.

The manga is entitled: Witchblade: Takeru, with the creative team of Kobayashi Yasuko and Sumita Kazasa. According to the reviewer, it has little or nothing to do with the Witchblade anime currently airing in Japan.

Takeru is your average Japanese high school girl being raised in a Buddhist convent by a couple of nuns and a big scary claw locked in a box that she?s supposed to avoid like that plague. It haunts her dreams in a big mess of foreshadowing that you can bet will be wrapped up in the course of this introductory chapter?s 38 pages, which lo and behold, it is – but I?m getting ahead of myself.

The review is actually quite good for making sense of the posted pages. Though some of the art is very? suggestive.

I?ve been told that this will be the cover to an Image anthology book called 24/Seven that will be coming out in July. It?s going to be in full color with contributions from several well-known comic creators, including Alex Maleev, Mike Oeming, Esad Ribic, Eduardo Risso and Ben Templesmith. And I hear that?s just the tip of the iceberg?

This Has A ?My Life As A Robot? Factor of Nine Out of Ten

The Gods Are Dead

In less pleasant Image related news, I hear that the second issue of the Small Gods miniseries has been canceled due to low sales. And the Small Gods forum on the Image boards (http://www.imagecomics.com/messageboard/) appears to have been removed?

This Has A ?Dead Man?s Hand? Factor of Six Out of Ten

Dead Clay Pool

However there is some good news for another company that was seemingly imperiled by Diamond?s new order policies. Claypool editor and Deadbeats writer/artist, Richard Howell checked in this week with a brief update:

The situation as of today is that Diamond is continuing to carry

Soulsearchers and Company

, at least, and we’ll know more about

Deadbeats

fairly soon. Our recent efforts at promoting the two series–with point-of-purchase cards, order reminder cards, posters publicizing our annual “Jump-In” event, etc, seem to have done some good. Anything could change at any moment, but Diamond recently sent us a purchase order for the issue of

Soulsearchers

that’s one issue past the original cut-off point, so that would seem to be a signal.

We intend to expand the makeup and content of our website (http://www.claypoolcomics.com/) substantially in the near future, and that definitely includes the option that Deadbeats (and perhaps Soulsearchers, too) could begin to feature web-only content in the near future, but that decision’s up in the air also. (Basically, we’ve had a sword hanging over our heads for about four months now, and it makes long-term planning a bit dicey.)

Howell also wanted to share this anecdote:

I wandered into one of my local outlets–Midtown Comics on 40th Street in Manhattan–and was pleased to see two of Claypool’s three series available on the main comics racks. (After I asked about the third–

Soulsearchers

–they informed me that it had already sold out.) That indicates to me that some of our promotional efforts have worked–now we just have to keep up, both on the promotional and creative fronts, to get our comics into the hands of those readers who Love to Read Comics.

One of our overseas ATR Agents has sent word of a new British company called Praxis Comics, which will be launching at San Diego this year. He also passed along art from one of their first titles: Scarlett’s Curse by Trevor Lee Landolt and Jeanine Henning.

More information might be forthcoming at this year?s Bristol Comic Expo.

Speaking of Bristol, I?m not going to be able to make it this year, but I understand that SBC will be well represented there. Stay tuned for further details?

This Has A ?Rising Savior? Factor of Seven Out of Ten

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

And finally, we have David Mack?s cover for the second issue of the new White Tiger series. Enjoy.

And that?s it for this week. See you in seven.

Later,
Blair

PS If anyone has any rumors, stories or news to share, please email me at blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com. Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in. It?s greatly appreciated.

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